June 26, 2012

Expecting Big Things

by Keith Gardner
A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away (Matthew 16:4 NIV).
I like seeing God move. It is a joy to see my Heavenly Father do great things for His children, of which I am one. I often refer to Matthew 6 where Jesus in teaching his disciples (and us) to not worry about the necessities of life; clothes and food, because our Heavenly Father know we need such things and He will take care of us. I also like the scripture; "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him”! (Matthew 7:9-11 NIV). These verses remind me of just how loving and caring God is. But, if God loves doing these wondrous things for His children, then why would Jesus call us “adulterous” when we look for such miracles?

Imagine with me you have a son, age 16 or 17, and he wants a car. In fact he wants a car badly. That is all you hear about whenever he is around. The make, model and color have already been picked out. As far as the son goes, you only need to go to the dealer, sign the papers and give him the keys. The son does not consider the hard work that is necessary to pay for the car, or the love of a father who wants to give good thing to his son, or even the joy the dad gets when his is able to bless him. No, to the son, the only thing that matters is getting what he wants. To the dad, there is no joy in such an attitude, no reciprocal love in such thinking.
Can you also imagine this is how God must feel when all we are looking for is a miracle? The need is important; the pain is real; the illness is debilitating and the important thing is the relief; the answer. From the perspective of a father with a son, I can imagine, with such thinking, God is not feeling the love.
God is Love, but He is also big and wondrous and powerful and holy. He does not want us to forget His holiness. He does not want us to overlook His bigness or the fact that He is God and He is worthy of our adoration and our praise and our love. Our attention should be on a loving God. Our thinking should be on the awesomeness of a God who big and powerful and creative; yet He wants us to love Him and for us to recognize the love that He has for us. He wants a relationship that endures the good and the bad; the easy and the hard. The miracles are a byproduct of that relationship; the results of our adoption into our heavenly family.
Let us worship Him!
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me (Psalms 13:5-6 NIV).

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